A soldering apparatus is used generally for soldering electronics parts to a printed circuit board. The soldering apparatus is generally classified into a reflow type and a flow type. The reflow type soldering apparatus is provided with a conveyance device for conveying the board and a tunnel-shaped reflow device body (muffle). In the inside of the reflow device body, there are a preliminary heating zone, a main heating zone and a cooling zone. A solder paste is printed on the printed circuit board with a metal mask and the electronics parts are mounted thereon. In the preliminary heating zone and the main heating zone, heated air then blows down to the board conveyed by the conveyance device to melt the solder of the solder paste and to fix the electronics parts and the like to electrodes of the board. In the cooling zone, the board heated in the preliminary heating zone and the main heating zone is cooled to be solidified. These sequence processes are for soldering the printed circuit board.
Here, since a furnace is in a high temperature condition by using heaters in the preliminary heating zone and the main heating zone, a chain having bushes is used as the conveyance device that travels in these zones wherein the chain has heat resistance and heat strength in high temperature under the high temperature environment. The chain having the bushes is provided in the main body of the reflow device and travels within the main body of the reflow device to convey the board by a rotation of a sprocket to which a rotation force of a driving motor (not shown) is transferred. In this moment, the lubrication oil having heat resistance is periodically applied to the chain having the bushes so that the chain having the bushes travels smoothly.
For example, in a method for supplying the lubricating oil, a reflow device is disclosed wherein an automatic oil supply device is provided above the chain having the bushes and the lubricating oil is supplied only to a roller portion of the chain from a position above the chain having the bushes (refer to Patent Document 1). In another method, a reflow furnace is disclosed wherein an oil supply section is provided above the chain, a space between the supply section and the chain is provided and the oil is supplied to the chain with keeping a continuous liquid level (refer to Patent Document 2). According to these methods of applying the lubricating oil, it is possible to apply stably the lubricating oil to the chain having the bushes.